Waugh explodes in England, and Inzamam's slump

Everyone knows that Mohammad Yousuf had a fairytale 2006 during which he scored 1788 runs at 99.33. It was a phenomenal improvement from 2005, when he averaged 51.41; something lesser batsmen would give an arm for. What escaped the scrutinising eyes of cricket pundits is that Inzamam-ul-Haq suffered a drastic slump in 2006 after his exploits in the previous year. He plundered 1000 runs at 83.33 in 2005 but could muster only 563 runs at 37.53 in 11 Tests in 2006. Curiously, Pakistan's win-loss ratio in both these years is exactly the same.

Steve Waugh took a while - three years, in fact - to make an impact on the Test circuit. Waugh had no centuries in his kitty from his first 24 Tests ; he'd knocked on the doors by making 91 and 90 in consecutive innings against West Indies in 1988, a year in which he scored only 395 runs at 30.38. But he turned the corner in the next few months when he exploded against England in the 1989 Ashes , accumulating 506 runs in eight innings. He ended his century drought, too, scoring 177 and 152, both unbeaten. He finished the year with 134 against Sri Lanka and averaged 86.50 in 1989. Thereafter, Waugh suffered another three-year slump with the bat.

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Andy Flower was among the world's best batsmen in 2001, a year in which he amassed 899 runs in 14 innings at 89.90. His tremendous form helped paper over a massive hole in the Zimbabwe team after Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin quit in July 2000. Perhaps a deteriorating team and the strife-ridden conditions in Zimbabwe eventually took their toll for Flower had a terrible 2002. He scored only 39 in his first six innings and ended the year with an average of 22.50. It turned out to be his last year as a Test cricketer for he too retired after his black armband protest during the 2003 World Cup.

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1984 was one of Adbul Qadir's most successful years and it followed what was possibly one of his worst years in Test cricket. He'd struggled against India at home and wasn't penetrative on the hard tracks in Australia. He ended 1983 with 17 wickets from eight Tests at 59.47 apiece. Qadir played eight Tests in 1984, seven of which were on familiar surfaces in Pakistan. England were the first to visit and he snared 19 wickets in three Tests against them. New Zealand toured in the winter and Qadir took 12 wickets in two Tests to finish the year with 35 wickets from eight Tests; double his tally of the previous year. Even in his best year - 1987 - Qadir's performances were skewed in favour of home Tests. He played seven Tests in England and India and managed only 15 wickets whereas in three home Tests against England, he took 30 wickets at 14.56.

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Corey Collymore played his first Test in 1999 and, after returning figures of 1 for 109, remained on the fringes for the next four years. He impressed on his return in 2003, taking 14 wickets against Sri Lanka at 11.35. Collymore struggled in South Africa in 2004 and against England in home and away series. He managed only 13 wickets in nine Tests at 66.20 apiece that year. He struck another rich vein in 2005 with 23 wickets at 22.86 each in five Tests against Pakistan and Australia.

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Who do you think was the first bowler to take 25 ODI wickets in a year? A West Indian en route to a World Cup? Dennis Lillee in the early years of World Series Cricket? Click here to find out.

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